THE UK GOVERNMENT has extended the furlough scheme until the end of March 2021.
The Chancellor announced today (November 5) that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be made available to all parts of the UK under the highest levels of Covid-19 restrictions until March 2021, with the government paying 80 per cent of wages up to a cap of £2,500.
The new CJRS, which was initially extended to 2 December, will be reviewed in January 2021 to decide whether economic circumstances have improved enough to ask employers to contribute beyond NICs and pension contributions.
For the self employed, the next iteration of the self-employed grant, which covers the period November to January, will also now increase to 80 per cent of average profits up to £7,500 over the three-month period.
Summary of the new CJRS measures
- The furlough scheme will now be extended until the end of March 2021
- Employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked.
- The next self-employed income support grant will also increase from 55% to 80% of average profits – up to £7,500
- Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions for hours not worked. For an average claim, this accounts for just 5% of total employment costs or £70 per employee per month.
- The incentive of the £1000 Job Retention bonus will fall away. This was one-off taxable payment to the employer, for each eligible employee that was furloughed and was then continuously employed until January 31 2021.
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